Questioner: Does soul exist?
Sadhguru: Soul? Who’s soul?
Questioner: And one more, what is the purpose of life?
Sadhguru: You’re just asking very big questions without understanding the significance of the question. See, when you ask does soul exists, you’re not talking about an academic subject. You’re asking, what is the nature of who I am? Or you’re saying, “I don’t know damn thing about myself, please tell me.” Yes, isn’t it?
You’re asking this very easily, because you have not been touched by the pain of ignorance, the pain of not knowing who you are, it has not torn you apart. If it really touches you, that you’re just living here, doing all kinds of nonsense, without knowing the ABC of who you are, it should be very painful, isn’t it? That pain has not yet touched you. You’re mouthing questions, it’s not sunk deep enough.
So every day, you must remind yourself – at least spend ten minutes in the morning, just see what an utterly idiot you are. You don’t know anything about yourself, but you’re busy with all kinds of nonsense in your life. Every day, just ten minutes, remind yourself as intensely as possible, your ignorance of yourself, then slowly, the pain will sink. When it becomes so painful that you can’t bear it, knowing will not be far away. It’s one moment.
If I say, “Yes, you have a soul.” What, can you walk better? What use is the soul? Did they put any kind of utility to the soul? These two [feet] are useful, that other soul that they’re talking about, is it of any use? It’s of no use. So don’t talk about it. And if I tell you, it is there. What does it do to you? If I tell you no, it doesn’t exist, what does it do to you? Nothing, isn’t it? Only thing is, a next dinner party that you go, you can entertain people around you talking about the soul. But as far as your existence is concerned, nothing changes, isn’t it so? Yes? Nothing at all will change, isn’t it?
So if you’re asking the question, fundamentally, you’re asking a question, what am I? Who am I? When you are here – are you alive? You’re alive? When you’re here alive, what is the way to know who you are? Is it not really ridiculous and insane that you must ask me, “Please tell me who am I?” This is like two psychiatrists were walking on the Kovalam beach one day. One of them looked at the other up and down and said, “You seem okay. How am I?” This is just like that, isn’t it?
You’re sitting here, you’re alive. You are existing and you’re asking me, “Who am I? What am I?” Is it not ridiculous? Very ridiculous, isn’t it? Only thing is, the majority is with you. That’s the only comfort which is not allowed you to know the pain of ignorance. You have a huge majority of people around you who are all saying yes, this is the way to be. Yes? That is the only thing which has given you some comfort. Suppose you are the only man on the planet who does not know who you are, everybody else knows. You know how it would be for you? Yes? You don’t know who you are. You’re busy in the world. Does it make any sense? Or does it sound like madness? Hmm? Insanity, isn’t it? But the comfort is, you’re in a huge asylum where everybody is like you.
Your problem is, your existence itself right now is only in comparison with something else
So your problem is, your existence itself right now is only in comparison with something else. You have no existence of yourself, please see. Right now, if you don’t have something that everybody has – everybody has nose, suppose you did not have a nose. Actually, you can breathe better you know. If you take off your nose, you will get 22% extra oxygen. You will be more healthy, everything will be better. But you know how you will suffer, because everybody else has a nose. Yes or no?
Or if you get something extra that other people don’t have, you still suffer, isn’t it? Suppose you grew one horn, you know how terrible it would be. But if everybody had a horn, then we would be polishing it and decorating and, you know. Your very existence is in comparison, there is no existence of yourself. Everything is in comparison. So, with that comfort you’re passing off, without knowing the pain of not knowing. If you know the pain of not knowing who you are, then if you just see that I don’t know anything about myself, tears will come.
If it starts tearing you apart, knowing is not far away. It’s very simple. It’s very, very simple because after all you want to know what is within you, isn’t it? Can what is within you be denied to you by anybody or anything? Hmm? Do you need a passport to go within? Do you need a visa? To turn inward and know what’s within, do you need somebody’s permission? Or can somebody stop you? Can any authority in the world stop you? No. So, who is stopping you? Who could be stopping you? Only yourself, nobody else but yourself. Nobody else is capable of stopping you, isn’t it?
So, why are you stopping yourself? Simply because you made your whole existence outside of yourself. Your very existence is only in comparison with somebody. Because this has happened to you simply because the very nature of sense organs is like this. Because your experience of life is limited to sense perception, that is the reason why you’re existing in comparison with somebody, not by yourself. Because sense organs are like this – if I touch this, this feels cold to me. This feels cold to me not because of the way the steel rod is, simply because of the way my body temperature is. If I lower my body temperature and touch this, this would be warm to me. Yes? Is it so? If I lowered my body temperature to minus hundred and touch this, this would be red hot to me. Is it so?
If your experience of life transcends the limitations of sense perception, suddenly, everything is different
So your very basic experience of life, because it is limited to sense perception, everything is in comparison. So your very existence has become in comparison. If this has to change, philosophies and teachings are not going to change this fundamental reality. If your experience of life transcends the limitations of sense perception, suddenly, everything is different.
When we initiated you into Shambhavi, if you gave yourself to the process, it could easily take you beyond sense perception. Many of you going into moments, where you are no more within your sense perception, something else is beginning to happen. Anything new happens, your mind is such, it knows only fear. Even if you walk into heaven, you will know only fear, because it’s something that you do not know. You have conditioned yourself like this. But if you allow it to happen, you will see you will start experiencing a dimension which is beyond sense perception.
Only when your experience of life moves beyond sense perception, then your experience of life is absolute, not in comparison with something else. Then you will experience of life has transcended the limitations of the physical. Then you have created an atmosphere to know who the hell you are. You better know who the hell you are. Otherwise, anything that you do is of no consequence.
